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Govt to spend Rs 15 bn on poverty alleviation this year

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Omar Asghar Khan said on Saturday, the government has decided to allocate Rs 15 billion for poverty reduction programme during the current calendar year.

The programme will mainly focus on employment generation and increasing incomes of rural and urban poor through small community infrastructure projects, he said while talking to various delegations from NWFP who called on him here today.

The minister said, the programme would primarily aim at improving rural and urban infrastructure on initiating such projects and it is estimated that thousands of jobs will be created for workers who will be able to work on seasonal basis.

Moreover, the projects, such as farm-to-market roads, lining of canals, water supply schemes, small ponds, soil conservation structure, garbage disposal schemes etc. will also address the socio-economic problems of the poor and marginalised communities, he added.

In view of the government's decision to hold local body elections later this year, the minister said, it has been decided that the government will not be nominating non-official members to District Advisory Boards instead the nation building line ministries along with the District Administration will plan and execute these development schemes.

However, the minister said, public input will be sought through inviting the public at large Community Based Organisations (CBOs) and credible Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to propose viable and needy projects.

Omar Asghar said, priority will be given to deprived and backward areas within the districts while planning these projects.

Further more, the community will be involved in the mobilisation of resources and manpower so that the projects are completed through maximum community participation, he added.

The minister further said, Army monitoring teams will assist in monitoring of these projects and the federal government will carry out third party validation of the projects. APP